It is no secret that I loved my first class at BYU-I. So when this semester started, I was skeptical and just knew I couldn't love these two classes as much as I loved my first.
After the first few class sessions, though, I could tell that I had a problem and I needed to fix it. I started praying to love my students. I prayed for them by name and asked Heavenly Father to help me love them so that I could be a better teacher.
You'll never guess what happened.
I loved this class. This is my 9:00 class. They were awesome. The let me celebrate their birthdays. They tolerated me making them sing primary songs (and do the actions). They let me discuss The Scroll with them. The men in back, from L to R: Dan, Jay, Jordan, Stephen, Travis, Jaron, Tyler, Jared. The girls standing are Christina, Melissa (Jordan's wife), Sammi, Ashlie, Marina, Kiersten, Christine (in back), Nicki (leaning in), and Marissa. Kneeling in the front is Kevin, Bryce (Bruce, what's the difference?) Scott, Chris, Amber, and Laura. Not pictured are Marisha, Jose, Ashleigh.
But they had to share my love.
This is my 10:15 class. I loved them, too. They sang happy birthday to my mom and dad on their birthday (my parents share a birthday). They clapped for each other. They liked to discuss and share. Logan and Nathan shared with us their contributions to the college film festival. The Canadians were great sports and sang the Star Spanled Banner with us. Don't they look happy? In the back, L to R: Kaitlyn, Sarah J., Kaylee, Rosie, Ryan B., Jon, Dylan, Jakob, Kristopher (a professional photographer), Nathan, Chu Chih-Hao, Aron. Kneeling in the middle are Logan, Shawna, Hannah, Amanda, Marie, Amy, Megan. And in front are Jenna, Jordan, and Jaclyn. Not pictured are Kate, Ryan K., Sarah S., Crystal, and Caitlyn.
*Note to self: don't wait until the last day of class to take the picture. A lot of people skip.
When they were lining up I told them they had to get closer. Ryan took me a little too seriously. Sorry, Jon.
These guys were goofing around, so I told them to give me their best mad look. I think some of them have some work to do on looking mad.
I had a great semester and I learned so much from my students. The most important thing I learned, though, is that in order for me to feel like I'm doing my job, I have to love my students. It's not enough to just love what I do, I also have to love those I teach. I learned to love the ones that came late every day. I learned to love those that constantly disagreed with me, and I appreciated their contribution to class discussion. I learned to love those with very unique personalities.
It's sad to end this semester, and I will miss these students, just like I miss the students from last semester. But now I find I am so excited for fall. My heart may be full, but I know that if I ask, I will be blessed with the capacity to love 75 more students.
4 comments:
I am so proud of you!! That is awesome. 75 students? Yikes. The reality of teaching for BYU-I hasn't quite set in yet, I am still in the honeymoon phase where I refuse to admit any student would possible disagree with me!
Possibly...I realize it is possible that they will disagree. I just really hope it isn't too frequent.
Who luckier - you or the students??? Good job, grown up girl. :)
"I learned to love the ones that came late every day"
What a relief! Don't worry Sis Stocking, we loved you too. Hopefully you're not creeped out by me finding your blog? It's sad because I'm not going to have you next semester. If it's any consolation you can read my blog too if you want.
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